Musical genius/Icon, Travis Scott released his highly anticipated album ASTROWORLD on August 3rd, 2018. Two years after the infamous Birds In The Trap Sing McKnight. In addition to the song BUTTERFLY EFFECT, which was released months before, there are 16 songs on the album. Some of the most popular being STARGAZING, SICKO MODE, and R.I.P SCREW. Scott has come a long way from his debut mixtape Days Before Rodeo and has continued to make hit after hit. The inspiration behind ASTROWORLD was his hometown amusement park.
Back in 2005, Astroworld (the amusement park) was torn down to create more apartment space. Scott wanted the album to sound like the despair he and his peers felt when the amusement park was demolished. Scott also used this album to get closer to his fans. He did this by rapping more and making the songs longer. “I want people to get to know Jacques, you know what I’m saying? It’s more extensive”. Scott charted No. 1 for two weeks, with over 160 million on-demand streams. Travis Scott has always been a genius when it comes to the production of his music and this album shows just how much of a perfectionist Scott truly is. ASTROWORLD featured artists such as; Drake, Frank Ocean, Swae Lee, The Weeknd, NAV and up and coming rappers Sheck Wes and Gunna. It is also rumored that Stevie Wonder is featured on STOP TRYING TO BE GOD playing the harmonica.
Travis kept up with his aesthetic of dark and eerie when it came to the visuals for ASTROWORLD. In one album cover, the amusement park is seen as bright and fun, there are children playing, families walking around and everything seems to be put together. Whereas on the other album cover, a car is being destroyed by flames, there are monsters and contortionists of some sort running out of the entrance of the park. In addition to having amazing visuals, Scott promoted this album like no other. Right before the album dropped, giant, golden Travis Scott heads’ were dropped around the country. One was in Times Square and the other was in Houston.
ASTROWORLD is hands down one of the best albums of 2018. Travis Scott is more than a rapper, he is an artist and no other rapper is doing what Travis Scott has done so far. In fact, no other rapper can compare to Travis Scott because his sound is so different from everyone else. The reason why this album is his best work is because he allowed himself to open up to his fans. This is the very first time Scott has ever really made music about what goes on in his life, usually, he is very private. He even opened up about his insecurities about entering the Kardashian/Jenner family on COFFEE BEAN. While I expected to hear about Kylie and her family, I did not expect him to get as raw as he did. He expressed how he knew that her family felt he was a “bad move”. In addition to Scott opening up to his fans, he had some of the smoothest transitions. Each song fit with each other perfectly. With all of that being said, if you haven’t listened to this album you should! It’s available to stream on all platforms and is available for purchase. This album is definitely something special and you don’t want to miss out.